1077 Breaking the Curse
It was important to note that the three God Curses never lost their physical body. Not even Fenrir's body was taken away and destroyed when he was caught and transformed into a Curse. The bodies were pushed into the Curse's Essence, where they were kept and maintained. Another interesting fact was that the Curses couldn't escape the seal without destroying their bodies. Each Curse had certain conditions to unlock its first seal, but all of them had one thing in common:
They could break out of the Curse if they were willing to cripple their bodies. Fortunately, Fenrir hadn't been pushed this far before encountering Michael, otherwise, the following events would be a little bit more difficult than they had to be.
Michael accessed the Expanse System and searched for the Curses sealed in the void of the Expanse. He saw a handful of God Curses and a lot more lower-ranked Curses but didn't pay too much attention to them at first.
[Can you free them?] Jormungandr asked Michael, pulling him out of the train of thought. Michael thought about it for a moment, his head tilted in uncertainty.
"I know your opinion of the Primal, and I think they're pieces of shit too, but some of the beings sealed in this place don't deserve to be alive. Maybe you won't believe me when I say this but some of the Curses here did things worse than anything the Primal did, excluding two or three incidents maybe. I don't think it would be a good idea to free them. The universe is better off with some of them remaining sealed or dead."
[What about the others?] Fenrir commented.
"I can release them," Michael shrugged, waving his hand to release a surge of pristine Essence. The Essence filled the void in the Expanse to infuse into the Curses, who regained their form slowly. Michael tapped into Slipstream, which – just like his other Soultrait Symbols – felt more like a Divinity since his Soultraits had been infused with pristine Essence and created enough portals to release the Curses who regained their shape. They were brought back to where they came from. At last, the Curses regained freedom. Some were mortals who attained godhood a long time ago, but most gods forced into Curses were born as gods. They didn't have much of a family, let alone brethren, to return to. Still, everyone was happy about the return to the weave.
Of course, that excluded the Curses, whom Michael didn't give a second chance. Some people did not deserve a second chance.
[What if I check on them? Once I have my body back, I can check on all of them and make sure they will never commit the same heinous massacres they've committed in the past.] Jormungandr suggested, which attracted Michael's attention. Michael was about to start dissolving his connection with the God Curses to return them to the void where it was the easiest to remove the seals, but he stopped at Jormungandr's commentary.
"Someone you hold dear is still sealed in here." He figured.
[I…wouldn't say I hold them dear.]
'Multiple?!' Michael nearly burst out, but he held back, his mind isolated from the God Curses since pristine Essence filled every part of his body.
Silence filled the void, and Michael's mind was filled with no more comments from the World Serpent. It remained silent, unwilling to go into detail.
[Jormungandr's children are still here. It is complicated.] Fenrir broke the silence. Michael was surprised but he didn't have time to ask anymore questions. Jormungandr cursed his brother and hissed at him, telling Fenrir he would tear him apart once they were out of there.
"Your children are here?" Michael asked, but Jormungandr still couldn't answer.
He sighed but decided to give the World Serpent the benefit of the doubt. Since Jormungandr had been on his side, protecting and enhancing him wherever he could, Michael wasn't going to betray him. They were friends. Some would even say they were closer than family. They were part of each other, even if that would only last for a few minutes.
"It would be unfair to free only your children. Maybe nobody would say anything, but I don't want to be known as a biased ruler. Either I'll free all of them or none. And IF I free everyone, you will have to carry the responsibility for the actions of everyone I'm freeing. Do you know what that means?" Michael asked Jormungandr in a dead-serious tone.
[I do know. I also know what it means to free them. They…No, I. I failed raising them well. They were born gods and considered themselves better than anyone. They killed too many gods and devoured entire civilizations. I know what I'm asking from you. Especially given their tremendous strength. But I wish to set them free and give them a second chance.] Jormungandr commented. He hesitated for a moment and added.
[Give me a second chance. I want to be a better father.]
Michael nodded, but his expression remained dead serious, "As you wish. I hope this doesn't turn out to be a grave mistake."
[Me too.]
[Can we start now] Fenrir commented impatiently while Hel reminded him.
[Calm down, will you? I think you can wait a little longer!]
Michael chuckled while Fenrir winced, but he jumped into action after that.
He closed his eyes and gathered his pristine Essence to remove the most vital points connecting him to the God Curses. This was easier said than done and consumed more Essence than most Major Gods could control at a time. But Michael handled the pristine Essence fairly easily.
Still, the pain of slowly removing the God Curses was painful. Not only physically but also mentally. The God Curses' voices in his head dimmed slowly as the connection died down and a somber feeling replaced the emptiness in his head.
But then again, Michael felt free for the first time since he awakened Fenrir. No. Even before that. Fenrir had always been inside Michael. He had been there since birth. While that also meant Michael and Fenrir were closer than the others, it also indicated that Michael had never been truly alone. He had never been himself.
Not entirely, at least.
That would change now.
Michael severed his connection with the God Curses, freeing not only the siblings but also himself.